WEST MIDLANDS Ambulance Service is set to feature in a second run of the popular documentary series Ambulance which starts tonight on BBC One, writes Neil Gordon.
Viewers will be treated to unparalleled access showing staff on the front-line dealing with every-day high and low situations including road traffic collisions, stabbings, acutely unwell babies through to patients with complex medical conditions.
Call-handlers and ambulance dispatchers, in the regions two control-rooms, will also be seen dealing with an increasingly busy service, an ageing population and someone who wants to commit suicide.
The programme was filmed in December and January at a time when the NHS was under immense pressure.
West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “The thing that comes over from these programmes is the incredible professionalism of our staff as they deal with the challenges that they are presented with, never knowing what the next call might bring.
“I’m proud that we have been able to show the diverse nature of our workforce and how we interact with people from every area and community of the West Midlands.”
Ambulance crews can be seen out on the ground as they respond to nearly 4,000 emergency calls every single day, involving the challenges of working with out of hours services, GP surgeries and A&E, in the Dragonfly Television documentary.
Kirsty Cunningham, Executive Producer, told the Standard: “Ambulance goes way beyond the traditional genre of blue flashing lights television and really explores the stories of people in crisis against a backdrop of mounting pressures, from political to societal changes.”
The first episode in the new eight-part series of Ambulance can be seen on BBC One at 9pm tonight.
